


It's Gonna Be (Marichat) May

by snekwami



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I'm finally writing something that isn't a rarepair, Marichat May, it's all just gonna be light-hearted cute stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-04-30 19:21:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14503791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snekwami/pseuds/snekwami
Summary: Marinette and Chat Noir have a bunch of silly little encounters.





	1. Please stay the night

**Author's Note:**

> I have a bad habit of not participating in love square events or just not writing love square at all and so I'm kinda bad at it... but anyways this time I'll actually try! Let's see how much of the month I can keep up for, hehe

“You’re injured, please stay the night. Please.”

Marinette grabbed the end of Chat Noir’s tail as he headed towards the window, making him jump in surprise.

“It’s just a scratch!” he insisted, gesturing at the tiny red line on his cheek. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“But… but…” She scrambled to think of something. “What if it gets infected? I have to take care of you!”

He turned away, but not before she could notice the blush creeping up under his mask. “Well alright, if you insist, princess.”

She had to stop herself giggling at the silly nickname. “Good! Sit down, I’ll be back in a minute.”

Pulling him over to one of the chairs, she left him there and then dashed off to get a few supplies. She returned shortly with a cloth and some antiseptic, which she used to clean his “wound” – though considering that it really was just a tiny scratch, this was rather unnecessary.

“There, that’s better,” she said, giving him a little shoulder pat once she was done. “Are you feeling okay, kitty?”

He blushed again at the nickname – wow, he seemed to blush around her more than he did with Ladybug these days! “Thank you, I’m purr-fectly fine now…”

He stood up from the chair, but Marinette grabbed his hand and pulled him back down. Then she quickly let go, feeling her own cheeks heat up. “Wait, um, don’t go yet!”

“You really want me to stay, don’t you?” he asked, grinning. “I guess maybe it’ll be fun to have a sleepover. Though I’ll have to borrow your toothbrush.”

“What? No, you can’t borrow my toothbrush! Look, the truth is, I want you to stay because…” She took a deep breath, wondering how to put this in a way that wouldn’t sound stupid. “…I need your help with something.”

Chat smiled gently, leaning back in the chair with his hands behind his head. “Oh, a quest from a princess to her knight! I can’t possibly refuse. So, what is it that you need help with?”

Marinette sat down on the chair beside him, opened her desk drawer, and pulled out a copy of Mario Kart 8. “I sort of told my friend Kim that I could beat him at Mario Kart, but it turns out he’s a pro, and I’m only used to playing against the CPUs and not actual people. I need someone to practise with.”

He blinked a few times. “You… want me to play Mario Kart with you?”

Her face was heating up again and she knew it. This was such a silly request. “Only if you want to! None of my other friends are that into it but you said once that you’re good at it and I really want to beat Kim so…”

Chat winked. “Hey, as a superhero, it’s my duty to help the civilians of Paris. And if that includes playing Mario Kart, then sure! Of course I’ll do it.”

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief – of course this silly cat wouldn’t think she was a weirdo, he was one too! And playing video games with him would be fun. It was something she had always wanted to do, and as Ladybug she never really got the chance.

She handed him a controller. “Thanks, Chat. By the way you’re going down.”

“No way, I always win. Though if I lose then it’s because I was distracted by my, uh, injury.”

“Of course, of course…” She rolled her eyes. Silly kitten, he was just so endearing. This was going to be so much fun.


	2. Can I pick, princess?

“Can I pick, princess?”

It was their third sleepover, and Chat Noir was looking over the movie selection on the laptop screen with glee. The first two times they had only played Mario Kart, considering that that was why Marinette had invited Chat Noir to stay overnight in the first place. She needed the practice. But earlier she had finally managed to beat Kim in all four grand prix races, winning fair and square, and it was clear she didn’t need Chat Noir’s nightly assistance anymore now that the challenge was over.

The idea of saying goodbye to these sleepovers, though… no, she still wanted them. Spending time with him without the stress of saving the city was very relaxing. She liked it. So this time she suggested they watch a movie together, and Chat had agreed.

“Only if you pick something good,” Marinette said to him.

“Of course I will! What kind of movies do you like?” He scrolled down the page slowly.

“Well I know it sounds a bit childish, but Disney movies are always good…”

She needed a good Disney movie to help her relax. Today had been a long day – lots of homework from school, the Mario Kart challenge, and then a rather difficult akuma attack on top of that. Did Chat like Disney movies too? There were so many things she didn’t know about him, despite spending so much time with him as Ladybug. It was hard to get to know her superhero partner when all they really did together was save the city, rather than just hanging out like normal people.

Chat’s face lit up. “I love Disney movies! Yeah, let’s watch one of those!”

So he did like them. It shouldn’t really be a surprise, considering how much he always liked to goof around like some little kid. Sometimes, when in the middle of an akuma attack, it could be annoying when he didn’t take things seriously. But Marinette was slowly learning that the rest of the time, it was very endearing indeed.

All of a sudden, he turned towards her and put a hand over her eyes.

“Hey! What the–”

“Shh, close your eyes.”

“Um, alright…”

She closed her eyes and took hold of his hand, gently guiding it back down. What did this silly cat want now?

“I know what we’re gonna watch, but it’s a surprise,” she heard him say, the enthusiasm easily audible. “Just keep your eyes closed until I tell you.”

She nodded. Which movie was he going to pick?

“Alright, I’ve found it, just keep your eyes closed for a few more seconds, princess…”

His voice was softer now, but still with that abundant enthusiasm. It was the same tone he used for Ladybug during their more tender moments. Marinette was acutely aware that she hadn’t yet let go of his hand, and she could already sense the heat flooding her neck and face. It wasn’t a big deal! She had plenty of close contact with Chat as Ladybug, so why not as Marinette too? They were friends now, after all!

And considering that he hadn’t let go either, he clearly didn’t seem to mind…

“There we go. You can open your eyes now!”

Marinette opened her eyes to see the familiar Disney logo lighting up the screen, and a huge catlike grin on Chat’s face as he waited for her reaction…

Oh. It was The Aristocats.

AristoCATS.

_Of course._

Marinette burst into laughter. She should have known!


	3. Adopted cat

Marinette reread the message on her phone as she rushed home from Alya’s place, unable to believe her eyes. How could her parents have got her a pet cat without even mentioning it beforehand?? How???

She let herself in through the back door and tore up the stairs, her mind whirling. Would her family even have time to look after a pet? She was always busy with schoolwork and superhero business (though no one knew about that last part), and her parents had their hands full running the bakery. What had even convinced them that getting a cat would be a good idea? Sure, cats were lovely animals, but still…

Clambering up the last few steps, she burst through the living room door. “Maman, papa, wh–”

She stopped abruptly when she saw the “pet cat” her parents had mentioned in their message.

Chat Noir, Parisian superhero, was crouched up on the kitchen counter, lapping at a bowl of what looked like hot chocolate.

Marinette’s parents, standing at either side of him, turned to look at Marinette with huge smiles on their faces.

“Look who came to visit!” Tom said. “Say hello to our new pet cat!”

Chat looked up and waved at her, a line of milk over his mouth like a silly little moustache. Marinette half-heartedly waved back, still in shock. Seeing Chat Noir in her bedroom was one thing. Seeing him in her _living room???_ Entirely another.

“Um, what are you doing here?” she asked. “Not that I mind that you’re here! I’m just… uh…”

“Surprised?” Chat leapt off the counter and ambled over to her. “Your parents invited me over.”

“Wait – they know you?!” Marinette looked at them. “You know him?”

“Don’t think we haven’t noticed you two having adorable little sleepovers all the time,” Sabine said, a hand over her mouth to hide her chuckle.

“You don’t have to keep it a secret,” Tom added. “We’re glad our little girl is getting along so well with one of Paris’s most noble superheroes.”

“So we asked Chat Noir if he would like to be our family’s official pet cat when we saw him in town earlier. That way he’s allowed to pop in and out any time. And you can have as many sleepovers as you want!”

Marinette’s heart skipped a beat. “You – you knew the whole time?! Ughhhh…”

How embarrassing! She ran a hand through her fringe, sure she was sweating. It didn’t help when Chat stepped an inch closer and whispered, “It seems your parents really approve of me…”

True, at least they didn’t mind. But still! Marinette could hardly figure out why she was getting so flustered over this. Perhaps it was the way her parents were gazing at her and Chat with their hands over their hearts and heads tilted, in that _oh how cute!_ way that they used to do with Adrien.

Clearly they had a very interesting idea of her and Chat’s friendship…

Unable to take the heat any longer, Marinette grabbed Chat’s arm and began pulling him towards the stairs to her room. “So, good friend of mine, let’s go do something fun and friendly… like play video games… or something…”

Chat, though bewildered, let himself be pulled along. He waved back at the parents. “I’ll see you later then? Thank you for the hot chocolate!”

The last thing Marinette heard before slamming shut the trapdoor was her parents’ contended little sigh as they watched the two of them disappear alone into her room.

Uh-oh… they _shipped it_ , didn’t they?


	4. Croissant murder

Marinette had been waiting for Chat Noir up in her room, expecting to meet him today, but he still hadn’t turned up. What was up with that? She left her room and headed through the back door outside to the street, looking up at the rooftops to see if she could spot him anywhere. He wasn’t fighting an akuma, was he? Because in that case she would have to go transform too…

Her gaze moved downwards and she saw that he was right there at ground level, and he was–

What was he doing?

“Chat Noir?” She walked over to him. He seemed to have his face pressed up against the bakery window, and now he turned to look at her with glazed eyes.

“Huh? Oh – Marinette! It’s you!” He shook himself out of whatever stupor he had been in and leapt back from the window. “Sorry I’m a bit late! I got, uh, caught up.”

She walked over and peered through the window, but there was nothing unusual. “What were you looking at?”

“Nothing!”

His answer was a tad too hasty to be truthful. She stepped right up to him, leaning in close to get a good look at that guilty face. “Are you sure?”

An odd ripple of satisfaction went through her when she saw that he was blushing, so she leaned even closer, going right up onto tiptoes. Even as Ladybug she never usually saw him from such an angle. His skin was smooth, free of the usual teenage acne, and those cheeks were reddening more with every passing second. He looked kind of familiar, but she just couldn’t place it!

Especially not right now, when being so very close to him was causing her to forget why she had even done that in the first place…

“Oh, alright! I’ll tell you!” Chat looked down, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I was looking at the croissants, okay? It’s been two months since I last ate something sweet and I would murder for a croissant. Help me, princess.”

For a few seconds it did not sink in, since Marinette was too strangely focused on how he had not moved away at all, despite how unusually close they were. He had called her princess, too. She was starting to get so used to the nickname that hearing the word used in other contexts gave her a sudden, unexplained spike of adrenaline.

Okay, okay, what had he said? Marinette took the tiniest of steps back and forced herself to focus. He wanted croissants, was that it? That was easy!

“You can just go in and get a croissant, silly kitty!” she said, flicking the little bell on his costume.

“Thing is, I don’t have any money when I’m in superhero form. And as for when I’m a civilian, I wouldn’t be allowed to just… well…”

He let his voice trail off, still looking down. Would he really not be allowed to get a simple croissant as a civilian? What kind of awful life must he lead?

Marinette took hold of his hand, smiling at him. “Come on then, I’ll give you a free croissant.”

His face lit up. “Ah, thank you so much! Are you sure that’s okay? Should I pay you back later?”

“Of course you don’t need to! You’re our pet cat, remember? You’re part of the family! Chat Noir Dupain-Cheng. You can have as many croissants as you want, anytime.”

Chat bowed and pressed a kiss to her hand. “Why thank you, princess. That’s so sweet of you.”

Marinette giggled – he really was starting to treat her like Ladybug! He hadn’t figured it out, had he? Nah, he would have said something. Anyway, this was good. It felt right, somehow. Holding his hand a little tighter, the two of them walked into the bakery to get their well-earned croissants together.


	5. Yarning for you

Marinette was busy working on a textiles project late at night when Chat Noir clambered in through the window. Barely even looking, she tossed a ball of yarn at him. “Think fast!”

Judging by the sound, he managed to catch it. Catlike reflexes indeed. “What’s this for, princess?”

“For you to amuse yourself with while I get on with my work.” She spun around in her chair to face him. “Cats like balls of yarn, right?”

He was tossing the yarn ball up and down in his gloved hand, chuckling. “You really are treating me like a pet cat, aren’t you? Next thing you know, you’ll be swinging a laser pointer around and expecting me to… oh, hold on…”

His claw had got stuck in the ball, and he shook it off. The ball dropped to the floor. He crouched down and poked at it. Marinette just smiled and turned back to her work. Sure enough, in a few minutes when she had a look again, he was lying on his back and playing with the ball of yarn excitedly. How adorable!

As Marinette worked, she found herself slowing down as her attention was constantly drawn towards this dorky superhero. Why was he so cute? It was fascinating to watch him out of her corner of her eye. Even around Ladybug he didn’t usually let his guard down quite this much.

By the time she finished her work, it was very late. She slid down next to him on the floor and ruffled his hair. “You may as well stay the night, kitty.”

He sat up, hugging the ball of yarn to his chest. A lot of it had unravelled by now, red string draping across the floor. “Marinette, have you ever heard of the string of fate?”

An invisible string connecting those who were fated to be together in some way. Marinette nodded.

“Cool.” Chat sounded more serious than usual. He ran a hand through his hair. “This stuff just kind of… reminded me of it…”

His cheeks were almost as red as the yarn. Without thinking, Marinette picked up a thread and wrapped it around her finger. “Here, give me your hand.”

Chat put his hand in hers, oh so gently. She tied the end around his finger, the strange fabric of his suit feeling so smooth in her grasp. Even when done, neither of them let go of the other’s hand. They sat there in quiet contemplation until the tension was so thick that Marinette just had to speak.

“We’ll always be together, right?”

Oh come on, that was the cheesiest thing she could have said! But Chat laced his fingers through hers and leaned his head on her shoulder. “Of course, princess. You tied us together with the string of fate, didn’t you?”

Usually she wasn’t sure if she believed in that stuff. But right now? Late at night, low on sleep, in this warm room? She did believe it. Again without thinking, she stroked Chat’s hair, slowly, softly, threading her fingers through it, even scratching at the fake kitty ears on his costume.

And she could have sworn she heard him purring.


	6. Paris ships us together

When the akuma struck, Marinette didn’t think too much of what happened. It wasn’t the first time that Chat Noir had carried her, bridal-style, across the rooftops of Paris towards safety. In fact, he had done it plenty of times. And not just to her, but to many other civilians! So she thought nothing of it, got to a safe spot, transformed into Ladybug, and then focused on taking this akuma down.

It wasn’t until later, back in her room, that she saw it all over the news.

_CHAT NOIR AND CIVILIAN – DOES THIS SUPERHERO HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?_

Girlfriend?! Marinette dropped her phone and took a few steps back.

She wasn’t Chat’s girlfriend!

Or… was she?

She took a few deep breaths and picked her phone back up. Had it been a good idea to get so close to Chat Noir? This could put her in danger! Well, that being said, she was _Ladybug_ so she could deal with it easily, but Chat didn’t know that. And she couldn’t tell him, either.

The boy himself leapt in through the window a second later. “Good afternoon, princess!”

She hastily hid her phone behind her back and turned around. “Chat! Uh… hi!”

“What’s up?”

He had already crossed the room and put an arm around her, leaning in close. It wasn’t unusual at all, and yet to think that the rest of Paris had seen none of this behaviour but still considered them a couple…

“Have you seen the news?” she asked.

“Of course I have.” He winked at her. “Now this gives us an excuse to hang out in public, right? I don’t just have to sneak in here for sleepovers.”

Oh, so that was how he was taking it? Marinette let out a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding. “You’re right. We can go get ice cream together!”

“That sounds like fun!”

Marinette cleared her throat, having just thought of something a little more _fun_ to ask about. “So… what would Ladybug think about this? Does she know about me?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Chat said, turning to face her and putting his other arm around her too. “I’ve told Ladybug loads about you. She thinks you’re cool.”

That was very true, and it took everything Marinette had to not burst into laughter. Chat did indeed talk about her a lot, and she did play herself up quite a bit. It was fun though! He would probably do the same if she knew his civilian self.

In any case, she leaned into him, turning their semi-hug into a full hug. She couldn’t help noticing that his hair smelled rather nice. Nice enough that she just stayed put for a few seconds, before turning her head away, blushing. How weird was it to just smell his hair like that?!

“So, should we go get some ice cream right now?” she breathed into his ear.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

For a few seconds, though, they stayed there in their tight hug, neither of them wanting to be the first to pull away. Marinette was still not quite sure – was she Chat Noir’s girlfriend? Somehow they had managed to avoid coming to an answer altogether.


	7. Mari protects Chat

Marinette and Chat Noir did indeed go to get ice cream later. It was nice being able to walk around with him in broad daylight, rather than their usual secluded evening hangouts. Less nice was the constant staring from fellow civilians, but at least no one said anything for now. It helped that they kept away from busier areas.

Unfortunately, areas that were devoid of humans were often filled with other creatures. And the two of them did not notice that they had walked into an alleyway that had hundreds of hungry pigeons sitting atop the neighbouring buildings, eyeing that ice cream. Until it was too late.

The pigeons swooped in and began launching at Chat, taking pecks of his ice cream and knocking him back.

“Marinette, I’m – ACHOO – allergic to feathers – ACHOO!” He dropped the ice cream, hands up to his nose.

Marinette had already known about his allergy, of course. As Ladybug, she had faced Mr Pigeon with a heavily sneezing Chat Noir by her side. Who knew the pigeons would pick today to have their revenge? And her schoolfriend Adrien was allergic to feathers too, so she knew first-hand how devastating it could be from him too.

Leaping into the fray, she grabbed Chat’s baton from its slot on his belt. “I’ll hold them off – you get out of here!”

He nodded. Marinette began swinging the baton around, scaring off the killer pigeons as Chat scampered in the opposite direction. It was strange being on the attack as a civilian, not using her yoyo and her superpowers. Was this always how her classmates felt? And yet they constantly stood up to akuma villains, not just measly pigeons!

Once Chat had escaped safely, his footsteps out of earshot, Marinette stopped swinging. The pigeons gave her what seemed to be rather withering looks, but did not attack further. They flew back up to their perches and watched her judgmentally as she walked back down the alleyway.

Chat was waiting for her at the other end. He leapt right into a hug before she even had the chance to give the baton back. “You saved me!”

What a dramatic way of putting it. “I just batted away a few pigeons!”

“I know, but still… you’re such a heroic princess, Marinette…”

He kissed her cheek. While it wasn’t the first time he’d done that, for once it seemed to be less of the Parisian politeness and more a spur-of-the-moment expression of gratitude. Marinette found herself fighting off a blush.

“Here’s your baton, by the way,” she said, pulling back a little and handing it to him. He put it away.

“Thanks. You’d make a pretty good superhero too, you know.”

How true that was! And he didn’t even know it!

“Hey, what’s so funny?”

“Nothing!” She quickly stuffed her laughter back down. “Nothing. Well alright, it’s something. But I’ll, um, tell you one day. Just not today.”

He smiled and leaned his forehead against hers. “Fair enough. I trust you.”

It warmed her heart to hear him say that. She knew that he trusted Ladybug, of course, but Marinette too? It was nice to know that they truly had something special.


	8. Kitty kisses

Chat Noir seemed to spend more nights having sleepovers with Marinette than he did at his own home by this point. Her parents often made extra food for dinner just to give to him, and much of the time he stayed for breakfast too. It was an idyllic period of life, one that Marinette wished could last forever. She had never been so close with someone.

It hadn’t occurred to her that things were different for Chat.

He arrived one night, soaked from the rainstorm. Marinette had wrapped him in a towel before he’d even had a chance to speak.

“Come here and sit by the heater,” she said, pulling him over. “It’ll keep you warm and dry.”

He sat down without a word, and Marinette sat beside him with her arms still wrapped around him. It wasn’t until she heard a sniff that she realized he was crying.

“Chat? What happened? Are you okay?”

He wiped his arm across his face. “I’m… fine…”

She held him even tighter. “Whatever it is, I’m here for you. I promise.”

Giving in, he leant into her arms and let himself cry. For several minutes they sat together in relative silence, punctuated by the rain and Chat’s occasional sobs, and Marinette ran her fingers through his hair to soothe him.

Finally he took a deep breath and looked at her, the tears having stopped for now. “Thank you, Marinette. It’s… it’s my f-family.”

So it was something in his civilian life? Hopefully he could still talk to her about it. “Did something happen to them?”

“No, not like that… My family is messed up. My f-father… he… he’s so _restrictive!”_

Marinette could understand that. Her friend Adrien had a very restrictive father too. Perhaps Chat had something similar going on.

“I like your family a lot better,” Chat said now, allowing a small smile onto his tear-stained face. “It seems like everything’s perfect.”

That much was true. Marinette herself had been feeling that perfection lately, basking in its glow, forever grateful to be blessed with such wonderful parents and such a happy life. It hurt so much to see that the opposite was true for poor Chat.

She laid a hand on his cheek, gently stroking it with her thumb. “You count as part of our family, Chat. You can stay here as long as you need.”

He gently moved her hand over to his lips, kissing her fingers, though so much more intimately than usual. “Thank you, princess. But I’ll only be staying the night. I have to get back before anyone realizes I was gone, or I’ll be in trouble.”

Marinette couldn’t reply, aware that he was mumbling the words so softly into her knuckles, and that the invisible string of fate seemed to be tugging hard right now. Putting her other hand into the tufts of hair at the back of his head, she pushed him towards her until their lips met, kissing him deeply.

It wasn’t the first time they’d kissed, technically, but Chat didn’t know that, and Marinette was not about to tell him. She broke off and pulled him into a hug.

“It’s going to be okay,” she breathed into his ear. “I’ll always be here for you.”

He kissed her on the cheek, having stopped crying for good. “Thank you, Marinette.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote all these over a week ago and now I'm all caught up posting, so depending on how much time/energy I have I'm not sure if there might be a few days break before I continue again (there's another fic I'm suuuper close to finishing so I kinda wanna put all my energy into that!) but thanks to everyone who's reading <3


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